


I Meant What I Said and I Said What I Meant

by Shiori_Makiba



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Families of Choice, Gen, Love Is for Children, Memories, Old-Fashioned Steve Rogers, POV First Person, Promises, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:25:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5734738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiori_Makiba/pseuds/Shiori_Makiba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Roger's view on promises is 70 years out of date and he does not care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Meant What I Said and I Said What I Meant

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Love Is for Children](https://archiveofourown.org/works/684731) by [Ysabetwordsmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith). 



> Inspired by ysabetwordsmith's prompt for Thank Muse It's Friday January 2016 session.

In 1945, I had deliberately crashed a plane into the Arctic. I didn't hope to survive. My body might be the peak of human perfection but surely no human, no matter how perfect his body, could survive crashing a plane into very deep and very cold water.

I hoped that my actions meant that HYDRA's plans would fail. I hoped that nobody would ever find the Tesseract. I hoped that by me dying, millions of others wouldn't. I hoped that my team stayed together and survived the rest of the war. I hoped that the war would be over soon. I hoped that Peggy would forgive me for standing her up and find someone to love. She deserved to be loved. I hoped that those waiting for me in Heaven wouldn't be too upset.

I was honestly surprised to wake up in that bed. I was even more surprised to learn that it had been seven decades since my plane had gone down.

I had missed a lot in those seventy years. Some of it good, some of it bad, most of it more in the middle. Like this strange new world of the future I had found myself in.

Parts of it were great. Like the advancements in medicine. I was amazed by the number of things that would have killed someone in my day could now be easily treated. Or how more people were seen and treated as people. Or how much food there was.

Parts of it were just so different or so completely new that I didn't know what to think about them. There was a lot of those and they just kept coming. It made me physically ache for Bucky. My brother would be just as confused but at least I wouldn't be alone in my confusion.

Parts of it, however, were terrible. Like how many people, despite those advancements in medicine, died because they couldn't afford those treatments. Or how with all this food everywhere, how many people still starved to death. Or how some people were still big bullies who beat down on others just because they were different. And worse, how few people called them out for their behavior.

Actually there was a lot of that. Just plain bad behavior and no one calling them out for it, let alone them getting in trouble for it.

I know I had been out for seventy years. I know that many people thought I was out of touch or old fashioned. Well, they could call me old-fashioned and out-of-touch all they like. There were just some things you didn't do.

Like breaking a promise. You should never break a promise unless you have absolutely no other choice. But people nowadays seem to do it all the time and don't think about of it. I don't understand why. Just say what you mean and mean what you say. I don't get why this is so hard for modern people to understand.

“You don't have to go today, Steve,” said Tony.

“Yes, I do. I promised,” I said.

“That was before Doctor Doom tried to use you as a meat tenderizer,” he argued. Tony often argued with me. He used to argue with me a lot more about seemingly everything that came out of my mouth. Not anymore and I knew Tony well enough now to hear the concern in his voice, see the worry in his eyes. As well as the stubborn. A worried Tony was a very stubborn Tony.

Of course, I can be very stubborn myself. “That was yesterday. I'm much better now.”

“That is a low bar to jump over.”

“Captain,” Agent Coulson interrupted. I turned toward him. He would look as calm and unruffled as he always did to a stranger but as with Tony, I knew him well enough to see the concern. “Why do you feel so strongly about this?”

“Because too many people break promises these days. Often for no good reason, especially to kids. I'm not going to be one more.”

“One might say you have a good reason.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn't. I'm mostly healed. Certainly healed enough to see the kids in the hospital like I said I would.”

I looked them all in the eyes. “I'm going.”

I went. But I didn't go alone. Which I didn't object to. I was still hurting enough that having back-up was a reasonable compromise.

Besides the kids were very surprised and happy that instead of just Captain America seeing them, they got a visit from all of the Avengers (excluding Thor who was still in Asgard). Complete with bags of goodies for them. Because Tony is like that.

It was a good visit. I promised to come again and it didn't take much arm twisting to get the others to agree to return too. Through Tony has started calling me Horton. I didn't understand why until Game Night when Uncle Phil read us a new book. I find I don't mind the comparison.

**Author's Note:**

> Horton is a character from the Dr. Seuss's books “Horton Hatches An Egg” and “Horton Hears A Who!” The title is inspired by something Horton says – it is a sentiment that Steve can get behind.


End file.
